Tim Kennedy was seriously wounded in a September 17 ambush in the Democratic Republic of Congo that killed Justin Conaglen, a former NZSAS soldier. The two men were reported to have been working on the same private military contract, in a case where reliable information has been difficult to establish.
Justin Conaglen’s body was returned to New Zealand, met in Auckland by family and those he served with in the NZSAS, and buried in Northland yesterday. Robert Young Pelton said Kennedy was medically evacuated to the United States through Bujumbura and Johannesburg.
Justin Conaglen and NZDF
In March, Conaglen took leave without pay from NZDF. In August, he formally left the military. NZDF said, “The NZDF is supporting the family with some arrangements, but we have no further comment to make.”
Conaglen’s military service, burial in Northland, and the return of his body to New Zealand give the ambush a direct human cost that reaches far beyond the Congo. He was a lance corporal with the NZSAS, and the incident cut short a transition that had already moved him out of NZDF.
Tim Kennedy and the ambush
Tim Kennedy is a former UFC and Strikeforce fighter with an 18-6 record and a Green Beret. Robert Young Pelton said Conaglen was killed in the September 17 incident while Kennedy was seriously injured, and Brent Tucker said, “These are the facts. [Kennedy] was shot in the Congo in Africa. He was doing contracting work. He was shot on 17 September. He was in a three-man element. There will be more information but as of right now, we will call it an ambush.”
Tucker also said, “There were three of them. Beside Tim Kennedy who was shot, I believe four times, there was a Kiwi, a New Zealander, an SAS member that w”. The reported count of three people in the element narrows the scale of the incident, even as the public record stops at the names of the dead, the wounded, and the private military work they were said to be doing.
Private military contract
Pelton described the contracting element as “Tax Brigade,” a phrase used to describe work apparently tied to protecting mining revenues, combating smuggling and improving tax collection. Separate reporting linked the operation to Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a US$700 million agreement with the Congolese government covering mining revenues and military support.
That leaves one open question at the center of the September 17 ambush: what exactly happened on the ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and who else, if anyone, was involved beyond Conaglen, Kennedy and the third man reported in the same element.
